You know, after that bike ride I think I'm changing my position on an important issue.My Fellow Americans · 1996 — Chapter 10 of 13 · 3'14" · B2
Kramer and Douglas Find the Fix, Explained: put on a spread
They come hunting a paper trail and find a page where Haney should be and isn't. "They knew we were coming" turns a library visit into a setup: someone cleaned the record before these two walked in. Then a letter about a missing man arrives, and one of them wanders off into a dinner menu.
What happens
In the research room of a presidential library, Kramer and Douglas page through old books and displays, looking for Haney. The volume that should name him does not. A book then drops off a shelf, a staffer hands over an envelope from Washington, and the letter says Reynolds has disappeared after speaking with them and Carl Witnaur. They borrow a car to reach Witnaur by morning.
Listen for
fall into the trapput on a spreadturn toknow one's way around
00:00 / 03:14Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
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Phrase of the scene
put on a spread
to serve a large, impressive meal
回忆在幕僚长家吃饭时，前总统忍不住感叹对方那顿饭摆得极其丰盛。
She put on a spread for twenty guests with almost no notice.
Also in this scene
- fall into the trap
to be caught by a trick or setup
- turn to
向某人求助
- know one's way around
熟悉某地/某领域的门道；对…很在行
Everything marked in this scene
44 notes across 63 lines
I think the military can definitely use some of those gals.Now, is this impressive, or what?tag with or what
Now, is this impressive, or what?How about this?Oh, you gotta be kidding.Our dreams are like our children.to be caught by a trick or setup
Don't you fall into the trap. Democrats are full of crap.Don't you fall into the trap. Democrats are full of crap.Anything you really like, I can get it for you at cost.elision
Anything you really like, I can get it for you at cost.Have you found it yet?Working on it. Hey, there's something you never got.Working on it. Hey, there's something you never got.I was Time magazine's "man of the year."Hey! Here it is.Where's Haney? He isn't here.They must have fixed this book, too.must have for deduction
They must have fixed this book, too.They knew we were coming.Hey, great job, Douglas!Hurry up with the ice.liaison
Hurry up with the ice.Excuse me. I don't know my way around "Kramer world."Lucky for you, Ben, we came along when we did.Lucky for you, Ben, we came along when we did.You were in a pretty bad way.A book just falling off a shelf like that.Ben, is there any way someone could have broken in here without you knowing?No, sir. Not on my shift.Oh, I just remembered...Told me to be sure you got it.Washington? What the heck is this?flap
Washington? What the heck is this?"I don't know who to turn to.wh-word plus infinitive
"I don't know who to turn to.Haney's chief of staff. That son of a bitch.Haney's chief of staff. That son of a bitch.to serve a large, impressive meal
My God did he put on a spread.Those little chicken livers with the bacon wrapped around them and the toothpick, and the dip for the broccoli--Could you focus, please?If we left now, we could get there by early morning, huh?Ben, we're gonna need to borrow your car. Is that okay?Do I have a choice? No.Kramer and Douglas Find the Fix, explained
What's really going on
Two men are amusing themselves in the library. A soft line about dreams and children is met with "Don't you fall into the trap," and someone offers a keepsake at cost. Then the page they came for is blank: Haney is not there. "They must have fixed this book, too" only means something because the next line is "They knew we were coming." The record was changed before the visit. The man on duty calls the crash an accident. A book fell off a shelf, and nobody broke in on his shift. The envelope says otherwise. A woman from Washington left it so they would be sure to get it. Read aloud, Reynolds has disappeared, and the last calls include Witnaur, Haney's chief of staff. The talk slides into bacon, livers, and broccoli dip until "Could you focus, please?" They take the car before morning.
Theme
DeceptionThe book has been fixed before they arrive, so the archive itself is part of the cover-up.
SatireA missing man is named, and the next thought is still how large the dinner was.
Listen for
- at cost — elision
- Hurry up with — liaison
- What the heck — flap
So was Hitler. Not twice.A brag about being Time's man of the year gets cut down to size. Hitler had the title once, so twice is the only part worth claiming.
They knew we were coming.Haney is missing from the book, so this is not a dusty mistake. Someone expected the visit and changed the page first.
Lucky for you, Ben, we came along when we did.It is tossed at Ben right as ice is called for. Whatever just happened, the two of them want it to look like they arrived in time.
I can't say that I can recall that ever happening before.A long way of saying this has never happened here. The stiffness sounds like a man guarding his watch, not a real answer.
Questions about this scene
Why is Haney missing from the book?
They expected his name beside Kramer and Reynolds. It is not there. One line says the book was fixed too, and the next says they knew we were coming, so the page was changed ahead of the visit.
Who is Carl Witnaur?
The letter names him with Douglas among the last people Reynolds spoke to. In the room he is identified as Haney's chief of staff, living in Chevy Chase, just outside D.C.
Why does the dinner story interrupt the letter?
Witnaur's house reminds someone of a banquet there: bacon-wrapped chicken livers and broccoli dip, a real spread. Someone else has to say "Could you focus, please?" before the drive can be planned.
Could someone have broken into the library?
The man on duty says no, not on his shift, and treats the fallen book as a one-off. The cleaned page and "They knew we were coming" keep that denial from settling the question.
What does the envelope from Washington say?
Reynolds's secretary wrote it. Reynolds has disappeared, she does not know who to turn to, and the last people he spoke with were the man she is writing, President Douglas, and Carl Witnaur.
My Fellow Americans · 13 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 11up to its knees inHaney Confesses to the Cover-Up
Chapter 1too little too lateGolf Talk Turns Awkward
Chapter 2shift the stinkThe Missing Appointment Log
Chapter 3skedaddleTanner Summons the Presidents
Chapter 4in the middle of nowherePresidents Hijacked in the Woods
Chapter 5get away with itWalking to Ohio for Evidence
Chapter 6stick a fork inPassengers Gossip About the Presidents
Chapter 7steams my clamsPresidents Trade a Watch for a Ride
Chapter 8live in the pastOld Rivals Almost Bond
Chapter 9shut your cake holeWayne Gets the History Wrong
Watching · Chapter 10put on a spreadKramer and Douglas Find the Fix
Chapter 11up to its knees inHaney Confesses to the Cover-Up
Chapter 12the end of the worldTanner Corners Them in the Tunnel
Chapter 13a way aroundThe Presidents Confront Each OtherChapter 10 of 13 · about 7 min to go